7 Scariest Things You Don’t Know About Public Wi-Fi

Who doesn’t like a free public Wi-Fi? Everyone enjoys going out and seeing the board which reads “Free Public Wi-Fi” and we all make the mistake of connecting through it and then logging in. The truth is, if a hacker knows his ways around these things, he can easily become the middle party and drain your data to his/her liking. Therefore, always be careful while you are out using public Wi-Fi’s.

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Instructions

1

Hacking

Yes, the thing you are most afraid of. Any hacker can easily become the middle party and take over your account in a matter of minutes. If that does not scare you enough, the truth is the hacker can even manage to take control of your account while you are using it and impersonate you. It is so easy for them that an easily downloadable application can give them your password if you two are using the same Wi-Fi.

2

Password Protection

If you are working with someone on the same Wi-Fi, your passwords are made public unless you are using an SSL connection. However, at times SSL connections only secure the login page and not the rest of the website. Therefore, the hacker can easily drain your cookies away.

3

Data Stolen

1 terabyte is the figure for the amount of data that is stolen on a daily basis. This is equal to 1 billion people getting their login credentials stolen.

4

Accounts Leaked Every Year

It’s hard to believe it but at least 370 e-mail or other personal accounts are hacked globally in a single year.

5

Passwords can be easily hacked

It might come to you as a shock but a few hackers have figured out a way to guess passwords with the use of a simple dictionary. Hackers have worked on this for a long time and guessing passwords is definitely not a problem for them now.

6

SSL Doesn’t Mean you’re Protected

You might be mistaken over the fact that the SSL connection provides you full security. The truth is that your e-mail itself isn’t encrypted. Therefore, a middleman between you and the actual server can easily read your e-mail if he knows how to go about your firewall. Therefore, it is always advised to keep a firewall on while you are using a public Wi-Fi.

7

Use Password Protected Wi-Fi

Password protected Wi-Fi’s are always considered to be comparatively safer. Why? It’s because they cannot be used by every person who is around you. Hackers then have to go through two layers rather than onne.